


Where there's smoke

by Shadowbeast123



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Slow To Update
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-27
Updated: 2017-09-27
Packaged: 2019-01-05 23:39:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12199581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shadowbeast123/pseuds/Shadowbeast123
Summary: In order to protect her son, Ursa had to leave. But she takes Zuko with her, and meet a very interesting family from the South Pole while staying in the Earth Kingdom





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> If you've read this story on my Fanfiction.net account, here's a newer version with better grammar.
> 
> Side Note: If you've read this story on the other site as well, then you'd know that Zuko has yet to get his scar. If you're just finding this story on this site, now you know. Other than that, enjoy.

Zuko sobbed quietly as he looked down at his arms; covered in cuts, scrapes, bruises. All the injuries inflicted by his father for not being strong enough.

"Poor Zuzu." Azula sneered. "Maybe if you were stronger, that wouldn't happen so often."

Not bothering to listen to his sister's words, Zuko kept his back to his sister and sobbed.

"Even if I was stronger," he sniffed, "Dad would still do this. No matter how strong I am, I'm always weak in his eyes."

Standing up from the floor, he wiped his eyes, and looked straight into Azula's.

"Your lucky Azula," he said to her. "He loves you. I'm just his mistake."

"Zuko!" Ursa snapped. "That's enough."

"Then why don't you stop him when he did this?" he asked. "Why did you let him do this to me?"

Sighing deeply, Ursa approached her son, and put a hand on his shoulder; Zuko shrugging it away and looking away from her.

"Zuko, honey. You know I can't." she said, trying to get him to look at her. "I can't protect you, because he'll kill you if I tried."

Seeing her son turn his head away again, and refuse to meet her eyes; Ursa wrapped her son up in a hug, and stroked his hair.

"I'm sorry I can't do anything to protect you Zuko," she said to him.

"That's what you say every time this happens," he said, getting out of her arms, and looking at her. "You always apologize for everything he does. Just once, I'd like him to see him apologize for what he does to me, and not you. Because you don't do anything wrong."

"Zuko," Ursa said.

"Don't," he said, interrupting his mom. "You don't always have to apologize mom. But I just wish you wouldn't stand on the sidelines all the time...I'm going to bed."

"Zuko," Ursa called as the door shut behind her son. Silence filling the room before Azula hugged her mom.

"I still love you mom," she said to her.

* * *

**~Later that night~**

"Zuko," Ursa whispered, waking Zuko up from a dead sleep to open his eyes, and see his mom's silhouette standing next to his bed.

"What's going on?" he asked, his voice still slurred with sleep as he sat up slowly and lit a candle next to his bed with a snap of his fingers; the dim light illuminating Ursa's panicked face. "Mom? What's going on?"

"Pack your things," she said, pulling her son to his feet. "We have to get out of here. Now."

Still unsure as to what was going on, and why his mom was so panicked, Zuko packed his clothes, and his knife that his uncle Iroh had given him before he got dressed, and followed behind her.

"Where are we going?" he asked.

"Somewhere safe." she said to him, kneeling down and looking into his eyes. "Let's go."


	2. Chapter 2

When it was early the next morning, the ship's horn was the thing that roused Zuko from his sleep; although he was still covered in a cold sweat from a nightmare he had of his father beating him and his mother for leaving a couple hours earlier after they had boarded he ship.

"Mom?" he said, shaking his sleeping mother next to him to wake her up; Ursa opening her eyes, and looking at her son before giving him a soft smile.

"Yes Zuko. What is it?"

"Where are we going to go?"

"Where ever we want," she said to him, coaxing him into laying back down, and resting his head on her shoulder. "When the ship docks in the Earth Kingdom, we'll restock on supplies. And from there we'll be on our own."

Giving her son a hug, she had to be careful not to hurt him. Because Ozai would beat him to the point where he would be sore for days on end, and it was clear that Zuko hadn't eaten in a while either, so he was pretty skinny.

"And Zuko," she continued, petting her son's hair again.

"Yeah?" he mumbled, falling asleep against his mother's shoulder.

"When we get to where we are going, you can't show people that we are fire benders," she whispered. "Your father's armies have caused so much destruction, so much pain. They'll torture you worse than your father did, or ever will."

"I doubt that," he muttered. "They can beat me all they want, but I've suffered worse from him. I think I'll be okay."

Smiling down at her son, Ursa leaned down, and kissed Zuko's forehead.

"Still," she whispered, "I don't want your father to find us. You have to hide your bending, at least for a little while."

"Okay," he whispered with a nod. "I will."

* * *

**~Meanwhile~**

"WHERE IS SHE!" Ozai yelled, practically spitting fire out of his mouth as he yelled.

"Wh-Who?" Azula squeaked, shrinking back from her father. Because as much as Ozai wouldn't lay a finger on her, seeing him like this scared her; because this was exactly how he would get when he would hurt her brother.

"Your mother," he answered. "She is gone, and so is your brother. She has betrayed the fire nation, and shall pay on your brother's behalf as well."

"Father, you banished Mother and Zuko last night." Azula lied, Ozai having had too much to drink the night before, and not remembering much. "Remember?"

"No, I don't remember. Because it never happened." Ozai yelled, almost hitting his daughter. "Gather the troops, and tell them to scour the earth, I won't rest until they are found."

"Okay Father." Azula said, trembling slightly as she went to gather his troops.

* * *

**~Later that day~**

When Zuko woke up again, he was on another ship that was just leaving the Earth Kingdom, with his head resting in his mom's lap; his head pounding with a severe headache as he laid there with a few people glancing at him, and whispering to the person beside them.

"Mom?" he mumbled, moving to sit up.

"It's okay Zuko," she whispered, stopping her son from sitting up, and letting his hair out of it's ponytail so she could comb it, and run her fingers through it.

"Mom, my head hurts," he muttered, feeling his mom tuck his hair behind his ear.

"It's okay Zuko, " she repeated. "Just go back to sleep."

Moaning at the pain, Zuko rolled onto his side so he wouldn't be facing the people who were glancing at him; his sore and abused muscles screaming in protest as he tried to get comfortable. Feeling extremely self conscious about the marks on his arms left by his father; because the shirt he had gotten while he and Ursa were restocking on supplies in the Earth Kingdom had short sleeves on it, and he wished they were longer so people wouldn't whisper about them.

"Just ignore them," Ursa said to him, still petting his hair. "Your scars will heal eventually."

"The physical ones anyway," he said, sitting up because his head was hurting him to badly to be laying down. Prompting Ursa to kiss him on the forehead as a toddler came over and pulled at his pant leg, and they could both see that she was blind.

"I think someone wants to say hello," she said as Zuko picked up the toddler, and got a tiny finger shoved up his nostril; making Ursa giggle as the parents came rushing over.

"I am so sorry," her father said.

"It's okay," Zuko said, feeling the baby pull on his bangs. "Ow. Okay, you can let go now."

"Toph, you do not pull on other people's hair," her mother said, getting Toph to let go of Zuko's hair, and making the toddler throw a fit; a pebble that was tracked in on someone's shoe flying right at Zuko, and hitting him square in the forehead.

"Ow," he hissed, looking at his hand to make sure he wasn't bleeding.


End file.
